The Arizona sentinel., 1887-03-05
A BABY ORANG.

He Was So Knowing That He Never Had Any Name But the "Old Man."
 Mir. HOrnaday, the chief taxidermist
 of the National Museum at Washing
 ton, who spent two years in the jungles
 of India and Borneo, in the search for
 specimens of natural history, gives a
 most interesting account of baby
 orang-outang which he possessed. The
 little fellow was about six months old
 when he was brought to Mir. Hornaday
 by some natives, and was of a mild and
 gentle disposition, very different from
 other young ones which fell into his hands from time to time, and became at once confding, whining softly when
 approached, and rolling up his big
 brown eyes appealingly.
 Judged by our standard of human beauty" his owner says, ''he was per haps as ugly as any healthy child could
 be and live; but for all that, his home Illness was interesting; it seemed to conform to general plan of ugliness, and nothing was lacking to make it per feet"
 His eyes were large, bright, and full of intelligence, and he had the forehead of a philosopher. and because of his bald and shiny pate, his solemn, wrinkled, melancholy visage, and an air of profound gravity, he never had any other name given him than "Old Man"
 His height was about F inches, his spread of arms 34k inches, and his weight 104 pounds. With a short, thick body, his arms were so long and his legs so short that by stooping forward little his hands easily touched the ground. In walking he always went on all-fours, turning his toes under, and placing the back of the fingers and the ball of the thumb on the ground. His gait was that of man going on crutches, and he seemed quite out of his element on the ground, but in climbing, his feats were wonderful.
 He very soon learned to climb up his masters body, to get a banana, placed on his shoulder, and soon be- came fond of being held in his arms; and when Mir Hornaday was tired of holding him, he graspei the folds of his flannel shirt and hung on himself quite different from human babies of the same age. Next to eating seven or eight bananas as fast as he could, his greatest delight seemed to be in lying in his masters lap. sprawling out with legs and arms, and catching at every thing within reach.
 Sometimes at dinner he would sud denly seize roast fowl, and have his teeth in it before he could be stopped, like a spoiled child of three or four years. Sometimes he watched his mas ter eating, squatted on the topmost round of his chair, leaning forward and resting his chin on his owners shoulder. For q long time he would eat nothing but bananas and sugar cane, and MT. Hornaday was at his wits ends to teach him to eat boiled rice, which was necessary in travelling, 1 when they could not be sure of fruit
 Finally, as he was watching over the shoulder, one day, he began to open his mouth every time he saw q spoon ful of rice coming, but was not allowed to have it. Then he became very anX- ious for it. and little tantalizing set | him struggling to get it. and after that | there was no difficulty about the rice, | if mixed with little milk. Then he learned to eat cooked meats, l vegetables, canned fruit, bread and to drink tea and coffee-in fact, all hu- man food-but was teetOtaler, for he | never would drink wine, beer or spirits. The ''old man" soon grew fat, and al- so mischievOus, playing all sorts Of tricks and antics, and pretending to bite his aster's hand.
 Sometimes he would make the most comical faces, with his great, broad, lips, by the half-hour to- gether, with the most curious contor- tions of the limbs. For some time he slept with his master-not being ob- jectionable, as he was very clean-but, as he got fat, he got into the habit of snoring and sneezing, so that he had to be put in other quarters.
 Whenever it began to rain, even if he was a under roof, the baby orang would invariably cover his head and body with loose straw or clothing, and he never voluntarily went into any water, and could never be induced even to try to swim. Once, while Mir. Horna- day was in bathing, the "Old man" sat on the bank looking on, and when he thought he was not noticed, gradually climbed a tree beyond reach, and would not come down, Finally, some natives reached the tree above him. friphtened